Plano Investment Firm Seized

Regulators say owner lied to collect $7.1 million

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The government seized control of KGW Capital Management on Friday, and the company's website had been replaced with a message from a court-appointed receiver.

A Plano man who claimed to operate "one of the world's leading private investment firms" lied to investors about huge returns and even his college degree, government regulators said in a lawsuit unsealed Friday.

Kevin G. White and his firm, KGW Capital Management, promoted a $1 billion currency hedge fund that traded in foreign currencies and claimed it had earned 393 percent returns since it was set up in January 2009, according to the complaint filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

In fact, the unregistered fund didn't begin trading until September 2011 and collected only $7.1 million. White, 53, spent more than $1.7 million on personal expenses and expensive trips, the lawsuit said.

The fund actually lost more than $2 million, the SEC said.

The government seized control of the business on Friday, and the company's website had been replaced with a message from a court-appointed receiver.

The complaint said White portrayed himself as having a "distinguished 25-year Wall Street career" but was fired from two investment firms after customer complaints and was barred from the New York Stock Exchange.

The lawsuit also claims White represented to the public that he had earned a bachelor of business administration degree from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches. In fact, he attended the school but did not graduate or receive a degree, the government said.

The case, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, also names several other companies White allegedly controlled. They are Revelation Forex Fund, RFF GP, Meridian Propane, and W Corporate Real Estate.

White could not be reached for comment and the court documents do not list his attorney.